John Fletcher

Name: Wit Without Money; A Comedy
Author: John Fletcher

Biographical details

John Fletcher (1579–1625), an English Jacobean playwright, emerged as a key figure in early modern drama, taking over from William Shakespeare as the principal dramatist for the King's Men. Working closely with Francis Beaumont and later with Philip Massinger, Fletcher composed more than fifty plays covering tragedy, comedy, and tragicomedy, with themes of moral intricacy and social critique marking his body of work.

His plays, such as The Two Noble Kinsmen and Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, showcase a command of tragicomedy and the comedy of manners, combining polished humor with psychological insight. Although his fame declined after the Restoration, Fletcher continues to serve as an important link between the Elizabethan stage and the dramatic developments of the 17th century, his influence lasting in the collaborative approach and stylistic range that shaped English theatre.

Quotes by John Fletcher

John Fletcher, Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife

“ Duke of Medina
Let me be gone, I'le never more attempt ye.
Margarita
You cannot goe, 'tis not in me to save ye,
Dare ye do ill, and poorly then shrink under it?
Were I the Duke Medina, I would fight now,
For you must fight and bravely, it concerns you,
You do me double wrong if you sneak off Sir,
And all the world would say I lov'd a coward,
And you must dye too, for you will be kill'd,
And leave your youth, your honour and your state,
And all those dear delights you worship't here. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, Studies on Slavery, in Easy Lessons

“ Do the friends of abolition deem us so stupid as not to see, if, even when the negro is in slavery, cases of amalgamation happen, that, when he shall be elevated to political freedom, the country would, by their aid, be overspread by it? Do they think that we do not see that such a state of things is degeneracy, degradation, ruin, worse than death to the white men? And will they chide, if, in its prevention, we drench our fields in our own blood in preference? The British Government urged the race here as an article of property, of commerce and profit, as they did their tea. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (1609)

“ I banish thee, with lustful Turpentine,
You that intice the veins and stir the heat
To civil mutiny, scaling the seat
Our reason moves in, and deluding it
With dreams and wanton fancies, till the fit
Of burning lust be quencht; by appetite,
Robbing the soul of blessedness and light:
And thou light Varvin too, thou must go after,
Provoking easie souls to mirth and laughter;
No more shall I dip thee in water now,
And sprinkle every post, and every bough
With thy well pleasing juyce, to make the grooms
Swell with high mirth, as with joy all the rooms. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen

“ Whilst Palamon is with me, let me perish
If I thinke this our prison.
PALAMON.
Certeinly,
Tis a maine goodnes, Cosen, that our fortunes
Were twyn’d together; tis most true, two soules
Put in two noble Bodies—let ’em suffer
The gaule of hazard, so they grow together—
Will never sincke; they must not, say they could:
A willing man dies sleeping, and all’s done.
ARCITE.
Shall we make worthy uses of this place
That all men hate so much?
PALAMON.
How, gentle Cosen?
ARCITE.
Let’s thinke this prison holy sanctuary,
To keepe us from corruption of worse men. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife

“ Margarita
Weak in your blood you would say,
How wretched is my case, willing to please ye,
And find you so disable?
Duke of Medina
Believe me Lady.
Margarita
I know you will venture all you have to satisfy me,
Your life I know, but is it fit I spoil ye,
Is it my love do you think?
Cacafogo below
Here's to the Duke.
Duke of Medina
It nam'd me certainly,
I heard it plainly sound.
Margarita
You are hurt mortally,
And fitter for your prayers Sir than pleasure,
What starts you make? I would not kiss you wantonly,
For the world's wealth ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, Wit Without Money; A Comedy

“ Yes marrie will I, but 'tis in anger yet, and I will marrie thee, do not cross me; yes, and I will lie with thee, and get a whole bundle of babies, and I will kiss thee, stand still and kiss me handsomely, but do not provoke me, stir neither hand nor foot, for I am dangerous, I drunk sack yesternight, do not allure me: Thou art no widow of this world, come in pitie, and in spite I'le marrie thee, not a word more, and I may be brought to love thee. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, Studies on Slavery, in Easy Lessons

“ In Europe, the doctrine would be thought to be too absurd for refutation, that a coloured man of pure morals and piety, of cultivated intellect and refined manners, was not a fit companion for the best in the land. What must Europe have said, when brought to understand that, in a republic, founded on the principles of human rights and equality, people are placed beyond the laws for treating the African as a man. This Philadelphia doctrine deserves no mercy. What an insult is thrown on human nature, in making it a heinous crime to sit or walk with a human being, whoever it may be? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (1609)

“ Looks like his Master, lean, and full of scurf,
Not caring for the Pipe or Whistle: this man may
(If he be well wrought) do a deed of wonder,
Forcing me passage to my long desires:
And here he comes, as fitly to my purpose,
As my quick thoughts could wish for.
Enter Shepherd.
Shep. Fresh Beauty, let me not be thought uncivil,
Thus to be Partner of your loneness: 'twas
My Love (that ever working passion) drew
Me to this place to seek some remedy
For my sick Soul: be not unkind and fair,
For such the mighty Cupid in his doom
Hath sworn to be aveng'd on ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Fletcher, Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife

“ Cacafogo
I am not poor enough to be a Souldier,
Nor have I faith enough to ward a Bullet;
This is no lining for a trench, I take it.
Juan de Castro
Ye have said wisely.
Cacafogo
Had you but my money,
You would swear it Colonel, I had rather drill at home
A hundred thousand Crowns, and with more honour,
Than exercise ten thousand Fools with nothing,
A wise Man safely feeds, Fools cut their fingers.
Sanchio
A right State Usurer; why dost thou not marry,
And live a reverend Justice?
Cacafogo
Is't not nobler to command a reverend Justice, than to be one? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, Studies on Slavery, in Easy Lessons

“ Had we been made acquainted merely with the fall of man and its effect upon his moral constitution, we should have still been bewildered in the perplexities of our condition. A consciousness of guilt would have filled our minds with apprehension, and the fear of the Divine displeasure would have mingled its bitterness with every gratification, would have seized upon every hope. Like Cain, we should have cried out, “Our punishment is greater than we can bear,” and solicited the black mark of slavery as an antidote to threatened and instant death. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen

“ ARCITE.
If I fall, curse me, and say I was a coward,
For none but such dare die in these just Tryalls.
Once more farewell, my Cosen.
PALAMON.
Farewell, Arcite. [Fight.]
[Hornes within: they stand.]
ARCITE.
Loe, Cosen, loe, our Folly has undon us.
PALAMON.
Why?
ARCITE.
This is the Duke, a hunting as I told you.
If we be found, we are wretched. O retire
For honours sake, and safety presently
Into your Bush agen; Sir, we shall finde
Too many howres to dye in: gentle Cosen,
If you be seene you perish instantly
For breaking prison, and I, if you reveale me,
For my contempt. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (1609)

“ Enter Amaryllis.
Ama. Shepherd, may I desire to be believ'd,
What I shall blushing tell?
Peri. Fair Maid, you may.
Am. Then softly thus, I love thee, Perigot,
And would be gladder to be lov'd again,
Than the cold Earth is in his frozen arms
To clip the wanton Spring: nay do not start,
Nor wonder that I woo thee, thou that art
The prime of our young Grooms, even the top
Of all our lusty Shepherds! ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Fletcher, Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife

“ Be there no pitifull 'Pothecaries in this town,
That have compassion upon wretched women,
And dare administer a dram of rats-bane,
But thou must fall to me?
Estifania
I know you have mercy.
Michael Perez
If I had tuns of mercy thou deserv'st none,
What new trick is now afoot, and what new houses
Have you i'th' air, what orchards in apparition,
What canst thou say for thy life?
Estifania
Little or nothing,
I know you'l kill me, and I know 'tis useless
To beg for mercy, pray let me draw my book out,
And pray a little. ”

John Fletcher

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